The One With The Prom
by CrayolaCreation
Summary: What if Chip had never turned up to the Prom, what if Ross had taken Rachel to the prom? AU The one with the prom video.
1. The One With The Prom

Monica Geller was excited, actually she was beyond excited, and there were no words to describe how excited she was. Today was the day, the day she had been dreaming of since she was younger; and no it was not it was her wedding day; it was prom, and what could be better than going on a double date with your best friend and her boyfriend?

Today, people wouldn't be judging her on her looks they would be judging her on her dress, her shoes, her hairstyle; it was going to be perfect! It would be her dream comes true, she had been planning it right down to the smallest detail, and nothing would go wrong, nothing. Her parents had gotten the camera out and they were filming her, like they did on every other special event, it was all going to plan, well sort of…

"Dad! Turn it off," she begged her dad as he struggled to control the camera, needless to say he wasn't able to tell whether it was on or off. She shoved the sandwich into her mouth, as she went to greet her best friend; Rachel Green. Assuring her dad it was still on, needless to say he didn't believe her, she could just picture her parents showing this video to her kids in the future, but there was no time to worry about that now, all she had to do was focus that everything was perfect and went exactly as planned.

"Oh, you look so great," she said smiling as she greeted Rachel.

"Ah, so do you, beautiful," replied Rachel glowing in the praise, and hugging Monica.

"Oops!" Monica exclaimed forgetting the mayonnaise that was on her fingers.

"What?" Rachel said breaking away from their hug.

Monica bit her lip, she knew what this day meant to Rachel, but she knew she couldn't lie about the new stain of mayonnaise on Rachel's dress, "Shoot, I think I got mayonnaise on you," she grimaced, knowing Rachel that dress cost hundreds of pounds and even more to repay it, how come she always had to mess things up? Was it too much to ask for one perfect night?

"Oh, that's okay, it's just the shoulder," she said giving her dazzling million dollar smile that she had perfected after hours of cheerleading practice, which Monica thought must've been gruelling, with Coach Beastie being the coach. She shivered at thought of her coach, "it's not mine anyway!" Rachel added letting the worry fall of Monica's shoulders.

"Everybody smile," Monica's father said focusing the camera on Monica and Rachel, Rachel waved and smiled at the camera being the naturally photogenic person she was.

"Turn it off!" She said with a fake smile perched on her face, she wished her family wasn't so weird, especially when Rachel wasn't around, and that wasn't including Ross, who seemed to develop a whole other personality when Rachel was around.

"It is off," Her father replied, Monica sighed why did her dad seem to think he was right? He didn't have a clue when it came to technology. "Isn't it Ross?" He said gesturing to Ross; who would probably lie to annoy Monica, they were siblings after all. Ross didn't reply, he seemed very engrossed in tying his shoeless, he was starting to get red and flustered for no apparent reason. "Ross?" Her dad said again.

"Yeah, yeah it's off," Ross replied distractedly his mind else, he looked sheepish, bashful, "you look pretty tonight," he blurted out, before returning to his bashful look, Monica smiled to herself it didn't take a genius to work out who he was referring to.

Rachel looks surprised; "oh, thanks," she mumbled looking at the floor.

"Well I'm gonna go… to the kitchen," Monica mumbled feeling. When she got to the kitchen her parents were talking, well whispering really, she could only catch a few words that consistent of 'Ross' 'Rachel' and 'crush' but that made no sense whatsoever did it?

At that moment the doorbell rang, it was Roy but not Chip, cue more photos, Rachel kept glancing at her watch, but Monica was over the moon! She had a date! She hadn't been stood up! She must've had a gigantic beam on her face but she wiped it of as soon as she saw Rachel's teary expression.

"Why isn't she here yet?" She said glancing at the clock; she was going to be late. "I can't go to my own prom without a date, I can't, and it's too late." Rachel moaned returning to the drama queen façade that she kept up night and day.

"If you're not going then I don't want to go either." Monica interrupted, but even she was doubtful whether or not Chip would turn up, but how could she enjoy prom without her best friend? Everything was falling apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Oh, I'm gonna kick Chip's ass." Roy muttered under his breath just loud enough so that Rachel and Monica could hear him and give a weak smile.

Things were not going to plan; Ross Geller could work that one out, there was a lot of crying, muttering and shouting from downstairs, he peered over the banister to see what all the fuss was about. Roy, Monica and Rachel were downstairs; Ross sat back down on the stairs wondering what all the fuss was about before doing a double take; where was Rachel's date? He knew Roy was Monica's date, she had been driving them all crazy with "Roy this and Roy that," for weeks now, but where was Rachel's date? Was that what all the fuzz was about?

"I have a wonderful idea. You should take Rachel to the prom." His mother said, Ross gave a week smile, surely she was kidding about this, surely he liked her and she liked him… as a friend, but would she really say yes to him?

"Doubtful." He muttered he'd given up on Rachel a while back, it was never going to happen between the two of them and he had just accepted that, plus if things went well he would soon be dating Carol who was in his college classes. There was no point of pining over something that would never happen anyway.

"Jack, give me that. Talk to your son." His mother replied, taking the camera of her husband the light still flashing red.

"Your mother's right. Take her, you can wear my tux."

"Dad, she won't want to go with me."

"Of course she would, you're a college man."

"I don't know." Ross said, but after letting curiosity get the better of him he got changed into his dad's tux, his feelings for Rachel may have temporarily evaporated, but he didn't want her night and his sister's night to be ruined because of some jerk that didn't turn up.

"I can't believe I don't get to go to my own prom, this is so harsh." Rachel said wiping some tears from her eyes, but it was no use every time she wiped them away more seemed to magically reappear from her eyes.

Meanwhile Ross was trying and failing to keep his cool. "Uh, just a sec dad. Okay, be cool, just be cool. Okay dad." His stomach was turning, the butterflies in his stomach had turned into gigantic moths, he wasn't ready but he was as ready as he ever would be anyway.

"Rachel, ready or not, here comes your knight in shining…" Mr Geller said, Ross grimaced he really didn't appreciate the cheesy entrances. Rachel's ears perked up, was Chip hiding upstairs? Why was he hiding upstairs? A glimmer of hope soared through her body as someone made their descent from the stairs, unfortunately for her it wasn't Chip…but Ross.

Ross held a corsage, "Rachel, do you want to go to prom with me?" He asked sincerely, he could feel himself blushing, but in his defence it wasn't like he had time to prepare or anything. Monica smiled, unsure of what to react, she wasn't exactly sure of what to make of her big brother asking her best friend out, but if it meant that Rachel would go to the prom, then that was great.

"Uh, Okay," Rachel said once again surprised.

"Well bye kids! Have fun," Judy and Jack said ushering the four out the door before taking one last photo, without giving Ross time to object to being called a kid. It was only then; in the car that Monica noticed Ross had a dopey grin on his face, she had only seen this expression a few times before but she just hoped it didn't mean what she thought it meant… Did Ross really like Rachel? She thought to herself because if he did he was setting himself up for a fall…

**A/N I hope you liked it, I hope the character's weren't to OOC, this is basically a what if Chip hadn't turned up and Ross had asked Rachel. I like that episode so much! but I was so sad when Chip turned up and Ross was there in his dad's tux :| And I like Ross/Rachel so this maybe a one-shot or a story IDK yet. Review and tell me your thoughts!**


	2. The One Where Ross Can't Punch

**Chapter 2.**

Ross Geller was trying to conceal his excitement, but this proved to be a very hard task indeed, his sister's best friend was going to prom with him! And okay the fact that Rachel was only going to prom eased the excitement and novelty of it slightly but not by much. Monica was surprised, and slightly suspicious at his eagerness to go to prom after declaring 'prom was for losers' after his own senior prom a few years back, but he didn't let that bother him.

There was a lot of screaming and yelling in the car, apparently prom was a big deal for girls, and unlike Ross they were unable to conceal their excitement. Roy looked at him before shrugging; "so you're Monica's brother aren't you?" He asked but it sounded more like a statement than a demand.

"Yes," Ross replied curtly, it was only then he realised that he was shaking with nerves, this was his one chance and he could not mess it up.

"Ah, well," Rory began before stopping, the discussion ended there as did the car. They were there, it was weird being back at his old school again, in a way he almost missed it, even if he did spend the majority pining of Rachel Green and to think he even started an 'I hate Rachel Green club!' They all clamoured out the car, one after another, Monica, Roy, Rachel, Ross.

After Monica and Roy disappeared through the crowds, Rachel smiled; "thank you for doing this Ross, you didn't have to…" She mumbled looking almost bashful.

"No, it's my pleasure," Ross said feebly, "Monica's been on about in for months, and I knew that she would refuse to go if you didn't go," he stated, playing the role of the 'caring' brother, he picked his words carefully making sure that they were all true, but the truth was Ross was glad Chip didn't turn up so that he had the opportunity to ask Rachel to the prom.

"Well, thank you, I mean I didn't want to be the total loser who turned up to prom alone," Rachel stated, Ross grinned knowing that he was one of the losers who turned up to prom alone, "I mean who would do that?" Rachel asked, completely oblivious to Ross' face which was turning to a beetroot red. "Oh, hi Trisha!" She said spotting a figure in the crowd and darting off.

Ross was on his own, he wished he'd thought the plan through now, how did he not think of the consequences of going to the prom with Rachel? It was so obvious, of course she wouldn't spend the whole evening dancing or talking to Ross, she was a shoo-in for the prom queen, she would chatting and socialising with her friends not just talking to her best friend's brother.

"Hi Ross," Monica said smiling after what Ross thought was an eternity of waiting. "You and Rachel then?" She said still smiling, Ross shook his head but he could feel his face turning beetroot red.

"No, no of course not I asked her as a friend," he mumbled incoherently.

"You like her don't you?" Monica stated rolling her eyes at Ross' feeble excuse.

"No, um maybe, yes," Ross replied rambling, it wasn't like he could lie anyway his face gave it all away; one look at his face was enough to tell someone he was lying.

"I know! Anyway I got to get back to Roy, see ya!" Monica replied with a smirk on her face as she made her way across the room. Great, now it was clear that everyone was having a better time than Ross, everybody, and he was stuck on his own looking like a complete lemon.

He wasn't sure how long had passed, but in that short or long amount of time four teachers had come up to speak to him and approximately none of the seniors. Well unless you count the two that deliberately spilt some punch over him for a 'joke.' When the song 'I've had the time of my life came on' it was quite ironic really since Ross was having anything but the time of his life, maybe he was better of being Rachel's boyfriend in his dreams.

He was just about to go when Rachel grabbed him by the wrist, "come on you can't go yet I at least owe you one dance!" She said smiling as she pulled Ross on the dance floor. Ross smiled, Rachel smiled, Monica who was watching smiled and even some of the seniors subconsciously smiled although they did well to hide it. After the song had ended the two were still smiling.

"Wow, you are actually a really good dancer," Rachel exclaimed, she sounded surprised.

"Yeah a nerd who can dance," Ross joked.

"You're not a nerd…" Rachel began, "…. Okay you're a nerd," she admitted. The two were both surprised at how much they enjoyed each other's company; they danced a few more times and exchanged conversations with Roy and Monica. Time had stopped.

"I still can't believe Chip didn't show up!" Rachel exclaimed after silence dawned upon the four, "we were going to buy matching corsages and everything, he was a shoo in for prom king," Rachel complained looking like she was on the verge of tears. "Not that this hasn't been great or anything, but Chip and I had it all planned out," she continued. Ross hadn't yet met Chip but he already felt like he hated him, Chip; or a guy like Chip would although be the guy he would be afraid of losing Rachel too.

"Um, Rachel," Monica interrupted before shooting a sad look at Ross, "Chip's over there," she finished deliberately looking at the floor to avoid eye contact with the other three.

"I'm going to kick his ass," Rory declared storming up from the table; Rachel followed him possibly trying to stop him before it was too late.

"Ross, I'm sorry," Monica apologised.

"It's okay," Ross replied his heart sinking; "It's not your fault."

Once Rachel's eyes were locked with Chip's all the anger that was previously in them had vanished, any wrongs that Chip had committed, all the hurt that he had caused dissolved into glasses, Rachel had managed to conjure up a perfect version of Chip, the only problem was this version of Chip wasn't real. She was seeing him through rose-tinted glasses, she was completely blinded by his good looks, and she didn't see Chip for what he really was.

However Roy's anger wasn't previously contained, "I'm going-," he began threateningly, Monica elbowed him.

"You are not going to ruin senior prom," she insisted firmly. "He's not worth it," she continued when she saw Roy's hesitant look. "Sorry," she mumbled in Ross' direction refusing to make eye contact.

"I guess I'll get going then," Ross said pretty certain that his face was beetroot red, feeling embarrassed that he lost his prom date in just a matter of minutes, "nice to meet you Roy," he continued shaking the senior's hand, "Mon," he continued enveloping his sister in a hug.

Neither Monica nor Roy tried to stop him from leaving. It was for the best, he never stood a chance with Rachel that was the long and short of it, tonight he had been leaving in a bubble of what he imagined being with Rachel would be like, but there would always be some other guy. Always.

"Ross, are you leaving?" Rachel asked, momentarily distracted by her reunion with Prince Charming.

"Yeah," Ross replied.

"I really owe you, you know that?" Rachel said, standing on tip toes, so she was level with Ross, slowly without thinking and on impulse Ross leaned in to kiss Rachel, something he'd never think he'd do on account of him not having an impulse bone in his body.

Even more surprisingly Rachel kissed back, their lips moving in sync, sparks were flying between the two and it was as if a catalyst had been used to speed up a reaction.

"Oh my God," Rachel explained after they broke apart, Ross looked at the ground refusing to make eye contact. "You and me? Did we just kiss?" She seemed completely bewildered as if she had never imagined anything like this happening before, Ross nodded.

"I know!" Monica chipped in somewhat unhelpfully in the grand scheme of things. The whole room was filled with silence, the silence was eerie, and the majority of the room were shooting death glares at Rachel, some were looking at Ross with the faintest bit of recognition, and some were just completely confused by the whole situation, others were looking at Chip with extreme cautiousness as if afraid he would blow a fuse. But to be fair he did look like he was going to explode.

"You kissed my girl?" He demanded walking up to Ross, he was several inches shorter than Ross and the statement didn't have the intimidating effect it was supposed to have, Ross crouched down wary of his height.

"Well, actually Rachel isn't your girl, she isn't an object-," Ross began deliberately trying to avoid the answer; he could see both Rachel and Monica shaking their heads out of the corner of his peripheral vision. "But it's an interesting story; see I was only doing her a favour as a friend…" Ross replied trailing off.

Chip punched him, his fist came flying out of nowhere and it came into contact with Ross' face, "ow," Ross replied flinching like a girl. He tried to punch bag, but Chip who had seen this coming ducked and Ross' first came into contact with the wall. Ouch, Ross audibly flinched, that really hurt…

"Classic," Chip said hi-fiving his mates, "come on Rachel you don't want to hang around with this loser," he said smirking.

Rachel looked hesitant, "I'll catch up with you in a minute," she admitted after several moments where silence dominated the conversation.

"Seriously?! You're choosing the nerd over me?" Chip said surprised. Ross would normally object to being called a 'nerd' but his fist was really hurting, was it supposed to hurt this much?

"Well this nerd," Rachel began, Ross flinched at the word 'nerd' "was willing to take me to prom when you couldn't even be bothered to show up on time!" She said her words iced with venom. Literally everybody was watching now, it wasn't every day that the 'it' couple broke up, and when they did drama was on top of the list of things to expect.

"So what about us?" Chip demanded, Ross had a feeling he wasn't about to give up easily.

"What about us?" Rachel repeated.

"How can we be in a relationship if you're kissing random guys?" Chi p demanded.

"Oh yeah like you haven't cheated on me since we've been together," Rachel replied casually, the statement surprised Ross, so Rachel knew that there was always the possibility that Chip was cheating on her? Why was she dating him? "Chip look it's over," she admitted, Chip stormed off and Rachel turned her attention to Ross.

"You should go to the hospital about that fist," Rachel said looking at the fist, where the bruises were started to show.

"Yeah," Ross said heading out the door.

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Rachel replied.

"But they haven't announced prom king or queens yet," Ross argued, "aren't you supposed to be prom queen or something?"

"Oh, please I don't think I could stand it if Chip was prom king and I was forced to dance with him," Rachel shuddered at the mere thought.

"Well if you're sure," Ross said uneasily, sheepishly and bashfully. "Bye Mon, bye Roy."

"Bye Ross, Rachel," Monica said before leaning in to speak to Rachel, "are you sure about going to the hospital? But you won't find out if you're prom queen!"

"Its fine, I'm sure Mon, actually I feel kind of honoured it's obvious that your brother has never punched anyone before," Rachel said chuckling lightly.

"Well it could've been worse, he could've screamed like a girl, now that's a sight you don't want to see."

**A/N I hope this is okay :P and everyone was more or less in character. Anyway reviews make my day! c: **


	3. The One Where Rachel Makes Coffee

**Chapter 3 Disclaimer;; I don't own FRIENDS ^.^**

"Sorry," Ross continued as they made their way to the hospital, "for wrecking your prom night," he said wincing.

"Ross, please I said it's fine, so give it a rest," Rachel replied irritably.

"Well you didn't have to come-," Ross mused.

"Oh, please Ross shut up, I meant what I said before, so give it a rest will you," Rachel responded her eyes glinting dangerously, Ross took the hint and silence dawned up the two. "Chip was a jerk, and I refused to see it, but then he punched you, and you punched him, I guess I saw him for what he really was." She admitted after what Ross thought was an eternity of silence.

"Well he was a jerk," Ross replied, Rachel sent him a challenging look. They were there, the hospital was lit with lights even in the dead of night, at least now they didn't have to fill the silence with awkward conversations.

"Hello, I'm Ross Geller," Ross started in what he thought was a confident laugh, behind him Rachel snickered.

"Oh, right this way…" A nurse said absentmindedly. Before leading to them a section labelled 'couples,' Ross grimaced and Rachel smiled wryly at the nurse.

"We're not a couple," Rachel informed them.

"Certainly not," Ross chipped in, "actually we're just here to see the doctor about my wrist…" He said showing the nurse his wrist which was now swollen, Rachel winced at the sight of his wrist which would soon be black and blue.

"Yeah he punched my boyfriend," Rachel continued.

"Ex-boyfriend," Ross chipped in.

"Sadly I think he did more damage to his wrist than my ex-boyfriend's face," Rachel replied smirking, the nurse smiled in response. Ross grimaced, but he didn't have the strength to argue or rather he just didn't want to.

The Nurse smiled, before taking them to the Doctor, who inspected Ross' swollen hand, a few hours later they were out and Ross felt even guiltier that Rachel had missed the rest of her senior prom to go to take him to hospital.

"Thanks Rachel," He mumbled his voice barely audible.

"Ross, please just shut up," Rachel replied irritably heading in her BMW Convertible that her farther had given her as soon as she asked. "Do you mind if we go back to yours?" She asked, "I don't think I can handle Jill and Amy questioning me about the prom, well not yet anyway…" She queried biting her lip; Ross noticed that she looked as if she might cry again.

"Course," He replied, "and if you wanted Mon could catch you up on what you missed at prom." Rachel nodded, and continued to drive, she knew where she was going, she could have easily done the journey with her eyes closed; not that she wanted to.

When they got there, it seemed as if Roy and Monica was still at prom, Ross was just sincerely glad that he hadn't managed to ruin their night; he didn't think Monica would ever forgive him if he did… And when the particular person is a sibling then they pretty much have permission to remind you of these things whenever they wanted…

"Can I have coffee?" Rachel asked smiling as they entered the house, quite thankfully Judy and Jack were nowhere to be found, which was oddly strange, since Ross could practically picture them waiting in the living room.

"Sure," came Ross' muffled tone in response, Rachel seemed fascinated when she watched Ross the make the coffee, it was like she had never observed anyone making coffee let alone made it before!

"How do you make coffee?" She asked curiously, Ross looked at her strangely.

"How can you survive without knowing how to make coffee?" Ross said his voice reaching an octave higher, he gaped at Rachel, wondering whether or not she was being serious or not.

Rachel shrugged, "well, my dad always made the coffee, so there was no need to know how to make it," was her simplistic answer.

"But?! How-?" Ross spluttered, spitting out the coffee he had just made, "Okay, Green, lesson one; how to make coffee," he began, Rachel looked sceptical, but by the end of the session Ross was determined to convert Rachel into a coffee making pro.

Rachel demonstrated on how she thought how coffee was made, when it was made, Ross struggled to avoid spitting it out, it was disgusting, and that was an understatement, there were just no words to describe how horrible the taste was.

"What did you put in this?!" Ross shrieked his voice reaching an octave higher; it was far too strong…

Rachel looked sheepish, "I thought it was like making hot chocolate you put two or three teaspoons in it…" Rachel replied, looking as Ross' face turned from shock to amazement, he looked speechless, he was about to open his mouth but he thought the better of it as he closed it again mirroring the action of a fish.

They spent the next half hour making coffee, or for Rachel learning how to make coffee, Ross wasn't actually sure when she was being serious or not but it seemed obvious that Rachel had been molly-coddled by her parents for longer than necessary. By the end of the session, although Rachel wasn't yet a coffee making pro she could at least make a coffee that was drinkable which was more than she could do when she first began.

"Ross! Rachel! What a pleasant surprise," Judy exclaimed as they appeared out of nowhere, Ross got the distinct impression that they had secretly been watching them for whatever reason, you could practically see the fake enthusiasm seeping out of her voice.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs Geller," Rachel said, getting up and remembering her manners, even though she had been Monica's best friend for years, but the circumstances had changed even though she wasn't quite sure how.

"Rachel, please its Judy," Judy replied, Jack just nodded in response.

"I made coffee!" Rachel chirped, "Would you like some?" She offered, Judy sent a sideways glance at Ross, before looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"No thank you dear," Judy declined. "Shouldn't you be at the dance?"

Ross looked bashful, "we left early," he replied simply, but Rachel isn't about to let him get away with his simplistic answer.

"Yeah, because he ended up punching Chip, and well he caused more damage to his wrist than he did to Chip's face," Rachel replied a smile stretching on her face, Judy and Jack laughed, "so we did decided to leave and take him to the hospital," she finished with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, dear are you alright? Shall I look at your wrist?" Judy said sincerely, before leading Ross away, Rachel snickered, behind them Ross could hear Judy and Ross talking in low voices, quite enough to make sure that Rachel couldn't hear what they were saying.

* * *

"So, what happened between the two of you?" Judy asked in a low voice.

"Exactly what she said, I punched Chip, and she took me to the hospital, and we came back here the end," Ross replied, reluctant to mention the kiss.

Judy doesn't look satisfied with this answer, "if you say so," she replied, implying that she thought that there was something that Ross wasn't telling her, and for once her thoughts were incredibly accurate.

"Does Rachel want to stay the night?" Judy questioned. Ross shrugged, before returning back to his father and Rachel, Judy repeated her question, and Rachel looked surprisingly flustered at the sudden question, an emotion that she had tried so hard to hide.

"Um, yeah, that would be nice… thanks," she mumbled incoherently losing her cool for no apparent reason, her cheeks were tinted with pink, as the limelight was firmly pressed away from her, and Rachel Green never shied away from the limelight.

Judy and Jack smiled, and Ross and Rachel headed upstairs. For the first time Rachel ventured into Ross' rooms, in the many visits Rachel had paid the Geller's she had never been in Ross bedroom, she was quite curious about it really. It was the one room, which was always shut and remained 'forbidden' to both her and Monica.

It wasn't that different to what she was expecting, the theme for the bedroom was obviously science; mainly dinosaurs, Rachel inspected the desk which was incredibly neat and tidy compared to her own. She saw a stray magazine lying on the table, "Science boy?" Rachel asked wrinkling her face, "What is this?"

Ross looked sheepish, "oh just a comic I was working on; the first issue got mugged, by this huge mugger, after that I was scarred for life," he concluded dramatically.

"Yeah, well Geller don't be surprised if this 'huge mugger' of yours was a girl," Rachel replied with a smile tugging on her lips.

"I think I'd be able to tell a girl from a boy, Green."

"Well you're not exactly the toughest guy around here are you?" Rachel replied smirking.

"I punched Chip didn't I?" Ross said.

"And caused more damage to your wrist than you did to his face," Rachel reasoned.

"You're never going to let me forget that are you?" Ross replied, but the question was rhetorical they both knew the answer as soon as the words were spoken.

"It was sweet," Rachel claimed, "You are sweet," she corrected, "Monica's sweet but dorky brother with an obsession with fossils and dinosaurs," She concluded.

Then they kissed, just like they had at the prom, it gave Ross no time to debate over whether being 'sweet' was a good or bad thing, which knowing Chandler would probably be the latter. They bashed noses, probably Ross' fault, Ross winced and broke apart, Rachel seemed unaffected by it all, and she was probably used to things like this happening.

"Sorry," Ross admitted, wincing, ashamed, how come things like this only happened when Rachel was about? Why did he have to be so socially awkward?

Rachel bit her lip, "no, it's okay; it was probably a bad idea… I mean…" She trailed off.

"You're popular and I'm a nerd?" Ross answered, Rachel didn't reply but her gaze was fixated on the ground, refusing to make eye contact.

"No, it's not that," Rachel began trailing off, as she caught sight of something glimmering in the corner of her eye, she motioned towards it, feeling exceptionally nosy, even though in her heart she knew that she was invading Ross' privacy, probably more so than Monica would've done so.

Ross was barely paying attention to Rachel as she motioned forward, "the I hate Rachel Green Club?" Rachel said incredulously. "What is this?" By this time Ross was on red alert. Rachel wasn't supposed to see that, he was ashamed to have been the co-founder of the; I hate Rachel Green Club. He should've destroyed all the evidence years ago… But in High School he had given up the hope of ever being with Rachel and he was embarrassed to say he dealt with his emotions in the worst way possible… Let's just hope she just never found out about the rumour.

"Um, that's nothing…" Ross said sliding the piece of paper away from Rachel, Rachel grabbed into out of his hand and began reading it.

"Co-founders Will and Ross?" Rachel stated but it seemed more like a question, "you co-founded an I hate Rachel club?" Rachel inquired, but she looked more curious than angry, "why Ross?"

"Well it's kinda a long story…" Ross began quite thankfully the doorbell rang at that precise moment, interrupting him from the excuse he was currently inventing in his head. "Oh, look Mon and Roy are back..." He said running downstairs.

"Don't think that this is over Geller!" Rachel replied, Ross sighed he'd have to worry about that later.

"Hi Mon, Roy," Ross said, shielding his eyes as Roy kissed Monica good night. "How was prom?"

"Nothing much happened," Monica begun suggesting that 'nothing much happened' was the opposite of what happened after prom. "You were prom queen and Chip was prom king, and he faced the utter humiliation of having to dance with the runner up; Amy Welsh, it was quite funny really, especially when he overturned the punch in frustration…" Monica grinned smiling.

"Really?" Rachel replied smiling, Ross returned to his room, feeling that he had got away with it by a very small margin.

"Yeah, so what happened after you left?" Monica enquired.

"We went to the hospital, then back here, nothing much," Rachel began thinking thoughtfully, "I can make coffee now," she admitted surprisingly proud of that small fact. "Ross and I kissed, but I can't believe he started an 'I hate Rachel Green club!'" She concluded anger apparent in her eyes.

"Oh, so you know about the rumour then?" Monica asked Rachel.

"What rumour?" Rachel replied, tilting her head back slightly.

"Uh…" She began but Rachel's narrowed eyes told her that she would either a) regret telling her or b) regret not telling her, it was a lose, lose situation. "The rumour that you had male and female reproductive parts…." Monica began feeling guilty as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth;, she covered her mouth indistinctively, worrying that Rachel would break down and cry like she did on many occasions.

For some reason Rachel looked more amused than annoyed, "so that's why Adam Carter wouldn't go out with me…" she mused, "but how could he? How could he start a rumour about me?" Then she started crying, Monica didn't say anything but continuously passed the tissues. "Is this why all my classmates referred to me as a 'person' and not a 'girl' in the school yearbook?" She said sniffing, whipping out her year book.

"Dear Rach, you're such a good person." Not girl! Person!" Rachel read before finding another passage and reading, "Dear Rach, you're a great person. Sorry about your teeney-wienie" Rachel said reading from her yearbook, "I can't believe this!" She exclaimed bursting into tears once more.

Monica went downstairs to get more tissues, "is Rachel okay?" Ross asked.

"How do you think she is? After all she did find out you started an 'I hate Rachel Green Club.'" Monica stated, "And I may've accidentally let something slip about the rumour."

"You told her?" Ross answered his voice sounding freakishly high pitched, and the tints of his ears turned red.

"What were you going to do? Keep it from her forever?" Monica replied before going upstairs.

"Yes!" Came Ross' faint reply, Monica rolled her eyes hating the fact that she was getting stuck in the middle between Ross and Rachel, for the first time and definitely not the last. Rachel was still crying when she came back, frankly Monica was surprised her eyes weren't dried out with tears.

"And after tonight, I really thought Ross and I stood a chance…" Rachel began sniffing, "but… but…" she broke off suddenly drying her eyes, as if sensing Ross was in the next room with his 'Science Boy' magazines and the mementos of the 'I hate Rachel club'.

"I know honey," Monica said trying her best to soothe Rachel, "do you know why Ross did it though?" Rachel shook her head, "he did it because he was insanely in love with you," she said finally letting the truth sink in.

**A/N I hope you like this reviews make my day :P**

**Hopefully this will only be ten chapters or so...**

**I got some information from; The One With The Rumour & The One With The Mugging & The One With Monica's new Roomate. And of course Ross can't punch :P**


	4. The One With The Rumour

Chapter 4

"But, but!" Rachel interrupted, "he still created a rumour about me, and co-founded an I hate Rachel Green Club, that's no excuse for what he did," by this time she realised that she was repeating herself. A faint blush crept up on her cheeks, after Monica's sudden revelation that Ross was 'insanely in love with her.'

"Uh," for once Rachel Green is at loss for words, but it isn't every day that you find out that a) someone started a hate club against you, b) that same person started a rumour that everyone had heard except for you and c) that same person was hopelessly and insanely in love with you. It was a lot of information to digest to say the least. "I don't know, honestly Mon I don't know," she began hopelessly. "I mean just Yesterday I was happy with Chip but after tonight…" She was repeating herself, there seemed only one solution to problem, a solution she was desperately avoiding.

"You need to talk to Ross," Monica said, stating the obvious. Pushing Rachel slightly so she was half in and half out of the door, she bit her lip thinking of the prospect of her brother and best friend in a relationship; it was strange to say the least she mused to herself, bother taking a bite of chocolate that she was careful not to eat in front of Rachel because of the 'evil calories' as she called them.

Rachel stood outside the door, given half the chance she would've run from the house, out of sight just to avoid talking to Ross, which was not an ideal solution given that she saw Ross on numerous occasions when visiting the Geller's.

"Rachel," Ross said nodding as he greeted her.

"Ross," Rachel replied coldly. "I know about the rumour," she admitted.

"I gathered," Ross replied dryly, his face showing no emotion.

"Monica said it was because you were and I quote 'insanely in love with me,'" Rachel continued.

Ross considered denying the fact, but even if he was even thinking of lying his face said otherwise, "I was, I guess I dealt with my emotions in a very immature way sorry," he said apologising.

"I don't think I should forgive you," Rachel mused, Ross eyes lit up with a faint glimmer of hope, "actually I won't since I did nothing to hurt you in high school," she said yelling, her voice an octave higher than what it normally was , Ross winced.

"Actually, that's not totally true," Monica began emerging from the bedroom; apparently Ross and Rachel's confrontation was louder than they anticipated it to be. "Well you-you did start that rumour about Ross making out with Mrs. Altman, our fifty year old librarian."

"How did you know that?!" Ross replied shocked.

"It's true?" Monica chipped in surprised, trying to shake the image from her head.

"No," Ross replied his ears tinted red.

"Yes it is! I saw you guys going at it behind the card catalogue!" Rachel exclaimed.

Ross looked suspicion at that sudden statement, "What were you doing in the library?"

"They had magazines!" Rachel exclaimed rolling her eyes for what seemed to be the umpteenth time in the duration of the conversation.

It was only then that Ross seemed to grasp onto the concept of a rumour, he looked shocked after spending a few minutes thinking, "I can't believe you- you told people about this?! Everybody knew?!" he said his voice reaching an octave higher after every syllable.

"Guys, both of you, forget about the rumours, you're making a big deal out of nothing- both of you," Monica declared darting sideways glances at both Ross and Rachel, "Rachel even with that rumour you were one of the most popular girls in the school and everybody wanted to be like you. One girl wanted to be like you so much she stuffed her pants with a Tootsie Roll!" Monica said finally glad that she had caught their attention, "and Ross if it weren't for Rachel's rumour, I mean no-one in high school would even know who you were. She put you on the map!"

"As a romancer of the elderly," Ross commented dryly.

"Can't you just let it go? Stop dwelling on the past, and start living in the present," Monica commented looking at the two of them directly in the eye.

"Well we both started a rumour about each other, so I'd say we're even, although you did have an I hate Rachel club…" Rachel began, Monica opened her mouth to say something but Rachel got there first, "Monica, whatever you're even thinking of saying don't say it…" before making a discreet gesture for Monica to go back to the room.

"So do you forgive me?" Ross asked.

"Only if you forgive me, I mean I don't really care about the club, I mean it obviously means you care about me enough to start a hate club about me," she mused.

"Okay," Ross replied.

"Okay." Rachel said, and they kissed, neither of them knew how this was the beginning of the recurring pattern; kissing, arguing, dating, more arguing breaking up, Ross and Rachel's was a circle they had only just entered. They broke apart after some time; Rachel wasn't sure whether or not Ross could feel the fireworks that were exploding between them or whether it was just her imagining things, seeing and imagining things that weren't there in the first place. "So where are we now?" She asked, glad that they had never been great friends in the first place, because if they had then their friendship would've been well and truly broken.

"It's you and me, on the first chapter," Ross began, "I mean, would you- you, be my- my girlfriend? I mean only if you want to, I mean you could say no…" He mumbled, deliberately making eye contact with the floor and refusing looking at Rachel directly in the eye.

"I guess so, I mean I haven't really thought about it," Rachel began, Ross smiled; it wasn't the answer he had been hoping for but a yes was still a yes wasn't it? It was just as well he didn't talk to Will anymore; he didn't want to feel guilty about dating Rachel, even if the club had the word 'eternity' on it. It wasn't legally binding or anything was it?

"Um, tomorrow, shall we y'know… go on our first date?" Ross said, it felt weird saying it, he mused over that simple fact.

"Okay," Rachel said smiling. Rachel headed back to the room with an idiotic smile on her face, although she didn't want to show it she was quite happy with the outcome of the conversation. It was funny how she was only just realising that she may or mayn't have had a crush on Ross for some time, well since he dedicated a song (of sorts) to her a few months back. But then the thought of being with Monica's older brother was simply preposterous, not to mention he was a geek! But now she was seeing him a different light, almost as if she put glasses on that helped her vision.

"So are you and Ross dating now?" Monica asked awaking Rachel from her thoughts.

Rachel pondered over the answer, "I think so, I mean we're going on a date tomorrow," she said.

"Look, I'm not going to pretend this is totally weird for me, but I guess I'm happy for you guys," Monica replied shrugging, taking another bite out of her chocolate, settling an argument between her best friend and her brother was surprisingly hungry work!

The next day came quickly, Rachel decided to go home before returning to the Geller's (which was like her second home) the following afternoon, needless to say when Jack and Judy found out that Ross and Rachel were dating they were thrilled to bits, especially since Rachel was almost like an 'honorary' daughter anyway.

"Hi daddy," Rachel said when she walked into the house; her father enveloped her into a hug.

"My baby girl, how was prom?" Her father exclaimed, by this time he was joined by Rachel's sisters; Amy and Jill.

"I left early," Rachel said simply, "Uh- Ross; Monica's brother punched Chip and we ended up going to the hospital…"

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Her father replied alarmed.

"No, he just said some things and Ross punched him, so I left with Ross and went back to the Geller's," Rachel said without a moment's hesitation.

"Who's Ross? Is he the geeky guy? The one with the bad afro, who has the fat dorky sister, who follows you around like a puppy dog?" Amy chipped in after a moment's silence, Rachel sighed she couldn't believe how incredibly ignorant her little sister could be, she nodded grimacing.

"Mr. Scientist?" Jill chipped in, Rachel began to worry that ignorance ran in their family, did other people see her as this ignorant? "Dino guy?"

"Yes," Rachel said exasperated. "Okay and I'd appreciate it if you all would just shut up about it since I'm going on a date with him."

"But he's a geek," Amy replied incredulously. "Where will he take you, the museum?" She wrinkled her nose at the mere thought of it.

"Wasn't he the guy that was caught snogging the librarian?" Jill wondered.

"Ew!" Amy chimed in; Rachel rolled her eyes whilst her dad had a confused look etched upon his face.

She headed upstairs, taking her time to pick an outfit, before making coffee; delighted that she was able to make drinkable coffee, she sipped in whilst doing a little dance spilling the majority of the coffee in the process. "Bye daddy!" She said smiling a s she headed out the door, seriously hoping that the data wouldn't be to a dusty, damp museum.

"So where are you taking Rachel?" Monica asked, walking into her brother's bedroom.

"Mind your own business," Ross said but as he said it a smile was stretching on her face.

"Well since it's my best friend, it's kinda my business too," Monica replied.

"Please, given half the chance you'd blab to Rachel," Ross argued.

"Would not," Monica argued.

"Would too," Ross claimed. "As much as I love arguing with you I'm going downstairs."

"If you are even thinking of going to a museum, I strongly advise you not too." Ross didn't bother with a reply which was just as well since they could've continued arguing all day given half the chance. Ross had a silly, dopey smile on his face as if he was a child on Christmas day.

He hurried downstairs happily, his enthusiasm was contagious, "hi mum, hi dad," he said smiling as he headed downstairs, both were downstairs ready to greet Rachel; a formality that had never been extended to Monica's boyfriends.

"This is it son," Jack said smiling at his son.

Rachel came a few minutes later, greeted with a sheepish "hi," from Ross' direction before she was enveloped into a hug from Judy and a firm handshake from Jack. "You ready?" Ross said, waiting for his parents to leave; both of whom seemed very insistent to stay and watch the outcome of their chatter.

"Yeah," Rachel said trying to muster some enthusiasm, although there had definitely been sparks when they kissed, she still wasn't sure what to make of Monica's geeky older brother, hopefully she hoped her opinion would change as the date progressed. After spending an eternity of choosing of where to take Rachel for a date Ross finally decided against taking to her the museum, although he loved museums, some people found them boring and an example of a classic Ross date. This was a prospect he wanted to avoid as much as possible.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Back to the future!" Ross declared.

"Wha-?!" Rachel replied.

Ross looked a bit irritated that his wit (which he only seldom used) was wasted, "y'know the film? Back To the Future?" We're seeing the sequel," he mumbled sheepishly noting Rachel's apprehensive expression after noting his first comment. Rachel's face brightened; although she would never admit it, she really enjoyed the first Back to the Future film, after seeing the synopsis of the film she was a bit wary of it stereotyping it as a "Doctor Who" type film with aliens and stuff. But in reality she couldn't have been more wrong, unlike the Doctor, Marty McFly didn't go travelling into hundreds of years in the future/ past, he just accidently travelled back in time when his parents were teenagers.

Ross was studying Rachel's expression, it was only then she realised how long the silence had lasted, "cool, I liked the first film," she said quite pleased she didn't have to muster some fake enthusiasm into her tone. Ross smiled, and Rachel gave a smile that was symmetrical to his own.

"Okay then let's go," Ross replied, they arrived at the film ten minutes late (which may've been as a result of Ross and Rachel arguing over the quickest way to get to the cinema) but all they missed was the trailers, so there was simply no use in complaining.

The film began directly after the first film ended, the main difference being that Marty's girlfriend Jennifer came along for the ride, although Rachel wasn't sure why she was even there considering she ended up sleeping for the best part of the journey. Although she had to admit it was funny when Jennifer met a future version of herself, it was only then that Rachel began wondering what her life would be like when she was an adult.

Would she be married? Would she have kids? The possibilities were endless, somehow the prospect of being married to Ross somehow lingered in her mind, she was able to picture vivid details such as them arguing over a baby, but the thought seemed hazy, like a dream she had conjured up.

Half an hour into the film Ross was worried, and unlike a normal person he wasn't worried about how Marty would be able to solve his future families' problems, he had the same worry that every other teenage boy had; should he put his arm around Rachel or not? He wasn't exactly an expert when it came to dates, but he had enough knowledge to know that most people did it, her ran his hands through his hair; panicking. It was only when Rachel put her hand on his knee that he began to calm down. Naturally, it felt only natural to copy her actions so that his hand was on top of her hand on his knee.

Rachel smiled to herself, Ross was a sweet enough guy, but simply clueless when it came to dating, she could practically hear his thoughts they were so loud! She sent a sideways glance at Ross, who was intensely staring at the screen before returning her gaze to the screen. Biff, had currently got the results of every game and was travelling in the time machine… Rachel winced knowing that nothing good would come out of this, Marty, Jennifer and Doc went back to 1985, only to discover that 1985 had changed a lot since they'd last seen it.

Rachel buried her face in Ross' chest after discovering that Lorraine (Marty's mother) had been forced to marry Biff, and Marty's father was died. Ross surprised by this sudden gesture, tried to soothe Rachel by patting her on the back. Soon Doc and Marty went back to 1965, to make sure that Biff Jr. didn't get the results of the matches from Biff Sr. And Marty had forgotten all about Jennifer- some boyfriend he turned out to be!

They saved the day, which was hardly surprising, even though it got very confusing since Marty had already travelled to 1965 before and was facing the current fear of bumping into himself… All was well, well until Doc accidently time travelled without Marty leaving Marty stranded in 1965…

"Did you like it?" Ross asked as the credits rolled.

"Yeah I did actually," Rachel said surprised, after seeing Ross' face lit up she quickly backtracked, "no, this is not an excuse for you to show me all the Doctor Who's," she cut in, Ross looked momentarily disappointed.

"But-," Ross interrupted, "Doctor Who is awesome," he interrupted. It has aliens and time travelling and everything!" His voice reaching an octave higher and sounding freakishly high pitched. "Not to mention daleks, exterminate, exterminate," he repeated imitating the sound of a dalek.

"Please stop it," Rachel said, before hiding behind a wall after seeing; Chip and his friends, she grabbed Ross and tugged him over so that they were both out of sight. If she ever encountered Chip again it would be too soon, and since they had finished school she technically (excluding graduation) never had to see him ever again.

"Yeah the dates not over yet," Ross interrupted, rather loudly for Rachel's taste who was focusing more on avoiding Chip than listening to Ross, "so shall we go to Merlin's?" He asked, Merlin's was a restaurant; possibly one of his favourite restaurants of all time, where the majority of his childhood memories were created, it was fancy but not too fancy, you could go with your friends and not be badgered about whether you were on a date or not, but it was the relaxed atmosphere that welcomed Ross most.

"…Sure," Rachel said keeping her gaze firmly planted on Chip, who had made no indication that he was going to move anytime soon, maybe if she just kept her head down he wouldn't notice her… She started walking slowly, talking to Ross in a low voice but sadly her luck had run out as Chip went over to greet her.

"Rach," he said smiling, leaving his friends and opting to give Rachel a hug.

Rachel walked back slightly, refusing the hug, "Chip," she said her vice cold, harsh and unfriendly. "What do you want?" She said narrowing her eyes.

"To speak with you… my friend," Chip said after a few minutes of thinking, Rachel's eyes are narrowed; even when they weren't dating she wouldn't have considered herself to be a 'friend' of Chip's, Ross cleared his throat catching Chip's attention, it was only then that Chip's gaze darkened.

"Oh, so you're on a date with him?" Chip asked tauntingly, Rachel clenched her fist but his next words hurt her even more, "I never thought you'd join the freak show Rachel," he said darkly looking at her with a penetrating smile, the words stung.

"That's it!" Ross said motioning towards Chip and proceeding to punch him, Rachel only just managed to stop him, and Ross' face was red at Chip's taunts, knowing how much pain Chip had caused Rachel in just that single solitary conversation.

"What you going to do?" Chip taunted, "Punch me? Oh, I forgot you can't punch because you're a big baby," he taunted, Ross' face which had previously been beetroot red turned to a violent shade of tomato red, Rachel released him from her grip, and without giving it a second thought, she did what she never thought she'd ever have the courage to do; she punched Chip, hard. He wasn't expecting it, needless to say he didn't duck, he crouched over trying to hide his pain and Rachel smiled gleefully.

"That felt good," Rachel commented, walking away from the crime scene.

"You-you, punched him," Ross stated, struggling to put a coherent sentence together.

"Yes, I punched him captain obvious," Rachel replied sarcasm apparent in her tone; Ross looked like he was going to say something but he stopped suddenly.

"Merlin's?" He asked Rachel nodded. They went to Merlin's as aforementioned, the meal went quite smoothly with only with only a few minor hiccups (on Ross part obviously) like when his chair was pulled out so much the waiter tripped over his chair spilling the drinks everywhere. Rachel seemed to find it hilarious, whilst Ross turned red, which seemed to be a growing pattern among the two. When the meal had ended and the bill was paid, Ross insisted on taking Rachel home, saying that "it was the only polite thing to do."

Surprisingly enough it definitely reached the top ten list of Rachel's favourite dates, maybe even the five, she liked Ross, and he liked her even if it had taken her a long time to see what was right in front of her the entire time.

"Wow, that was a really good date," Rachel commented.

"I know," Ross replied.

"I've never seen you eat that much before," Rachel added, "or that fast," she added as an afterthought.

"Well, when you live with Monica if you didn't eat fast you didn't eat," Ross interjected, Rachel laughed before shivering, "are you cold?" Ross said passing her his jacket, something he had learned from being 'bullied' into watching romance films with Monica, well she was stronger than he was…

"Favourite pizza?" Ross asked awaking Rachel from her thoughts.

"Anchovy," Rachel replied firmly.

"I hate anchovies…" Ross complained, the short lived conversation drew to a close, "well we're here," he announced.

"We are," Rachel replied they kissed only to be interrupted by Rachel's father.

"So this is him?" Mr Green said, before proceeding to give Ross the 'don't you even think of hurting my daughter' pep talk, although Ross would never admit it, he was rather intimidated by Rachel's father, thankfully her mother was much nicer and warmer and didn't automatically jump to the conclusion that he would end up hurting Rachel.

"Sorry about them," Rachel said wincing as they left.

"It's okay," Ross mumbled, "it's weird, after yesterday I never would've imagined us dating, y'know when you kinda blew up about the rumour."

"Well to be fair I couldn't stay mad at you, not when I created a rumour about you," Rachel replied evenly, shrugging.

"Maybe it's the rumours that brought us together," Ross said thoughtfully, it sounded crazy but in this instance it was true.

"Maybe," Rachel said before kissing Ross once more.

** A/N This is so ridiculously long considering the majority of my updates are only 2,000 words or so...**

**I really like this chapter but I seemed to lose motivation to write in the last five hundred words or so.. I'm sorry **

**Some of the dialogue came from 'The One With The Rumour' :P And there are only around 3 more chapters, and as you all know reviews make my day! and thank you for the lovely reviews that I've received so far!**


	5. The One With The Goodbye

**Chapter Five.**

Ross and Rachel had been dating for some time now, several weeks had passed since their first date and they had started to fall into the pattern of spending every waking moment being around each other's company, even if they spent around 60% of that time arguing over petty things. However not everyone was happy about it; Chip was still angry about the humiliation he faced during prom and Will who had returned to town was less than amused.

"Traitor," Will muttered under his breath as he caught sight of Ross and Rachel, he peered through his binoculars trying to get a better view without fear of being spotted, and did the club not mean anything to Ross? Yet here he was fraternizing with the enemy, or dating her to be precise.

"What are you doing?" Chip asked catching sight of Will crouching on the floor, after realising how nice he sounded he altered his tone, "nerd," he spat out the last word of his sentence iced with venom, Will got up silently careful not to make up a sound.

"Ross Geller and Rachel Green," he stated.

"You're spying on them?" Chip asked incredulously even if the answer did seem pretty obvious.

"Yes," Will replied.

"Well if you've gotta problem with them you've gotta do something about it," Chip said.

"That's true," Will admitted surprised that Chip had come up with a sensible solution (which must've been a first). "But what can I do about it?" he asked Chip, looking for anymore bright ideas, Chip shrugged his eyes glinting furiously.

"We break them up," he said, Will continued to wait for Chip's big plan but that apparently was it. But if Chip Matthews was willing to help then maybe it wasn't just a lost cause.

* * *

It was a week before Ross, Rachel and Monica would be heading off to college, this summer had been one of the best summer's ever in Ross' mind, but he was just coming to terms with the fact that trying a long distance relationship would never work as he believed it put too much strain on the relationship. Maybe now was the time to finish it before it all went disastrously wrong, although part of him was worried that he could be saying goodbye to Rachel forever.

"Hey Rach," he murmured softly.

"Yeah," she replied smiling.

"I think we should take a break," Ross replied, Rachel looked alarmed at this statement, "I mean, during term times, I… just don't want to end on bad terms, and I… don't think long distance will work," he concluded.

"Oh," Rachel said finally, "okay, I guess that's fair enough," she said with a cautious smile etched on her face as all hopes of a future with Ross dissolved into nothingness. Although she hated to admit it, Ross' proposal was a sensible one, long distance would probably tear them further apart than bring them closer, but he didn't understand… she felt… she felt like she was ready to try long distance. But how could she propose the idea when he seemed so against it?

* * *

Will was going to make his move, now that Ross and Rachel were finally separated, now was a good time to talk to Ross, unfortunately Chandler; one of Ross' friends from college was although there, once again putting a spanner in the works for his great plan.

"Rachel and I are dating," Ross announced to Chandler. "Or were dating, I don't know."

"Cool," Chandler asked absentmindedly not noticing the stumble between the past and the present tense on Ross' part, "Have you kissed yet?"

"Yeah," Ross replied.

"Cool, good for you mate," Chandler said but he was interrupted by the door ringing; it was Will.

"Will?" Ross said incredulously.

"Hi Will," Monica said surprise evident in her tone as she opened the doors emerging from her room.

"Sorry I didn't quite catch that, is your name Will?" Chandler said in a jokingly manner going, "I'm Chandler, the funny one, nice to meet you," Chandler said.

Will didn't reply, "Where's Rachel, I mean you've been practically joined to the hip since the start of the summer?" She asked.

"We're on a break," Ross interjected.

"On a break?!" Monica said incredulously, "I mean you talk about her none stop ever since I've known you and now you're on a break?" Chandler replied.

"I know!" Monica replied.

"I don't talk about her all the time," Ross argued.

"No, only about let's say… 99.99% of the time," Chandler replied.

"I do not!" Ross replied angrily.

"So you guys are on a break?" Will asked, interrupting the three from their argument, he feared that if he didn't interrupt now he'd be forced to watch the whole argument. And the longer the argument went on the bigger the chance was that Monica and Chandler would be able to persuade Ross to rethink his plan.

"Apparently so," Monica replied, "cookie?"

"Yes, please, wait when did you start dating?" Will asked, hoping that his curiosity wouldn't be seen as being nosy.

"A while back," Ross said simply, "I didn't know you were back in town! How's college, man?" He said desperately trying to change the conversation.

"What about our pact, what about the club?" Will said, pestering Ross who made sure to avoid eye contact at all costs.

"What club?" Chandler asked.

"The I hate Rachel Green club, we created a rumour and everything…" Will said trailing off, Chandler struggled to contain his laughter and Ross made sure to avoid eye contact at all costs.

"Wow, you guys were so cool," Chandler said dryly.

"Look, man, we were in high school it doesn't mean anything," Ross replied.

"Then why did it have the word eternity on it?" Will asked.

Chandler coughed, "what are you five year old girls?" He high fived Monica.

"Have you seriously just come here to grill me about my relationship with Rachel? How'd you know about that anyway?" Ross asked completely oblivious to the truth as always.

"Well, I do know one thing you're a traitor," Will declared with venom in his tone.

"Oooh, I'm scared!" Chandler said mockingly, Will didn't reply but slammed the door in response. When Will was safely out of sight, it was only then that the three were able to be themselves, "you guys were just the coolest in high school weren't you?" He said sarcastically.

"Anyway, what are you going to do about Rachel?" Monica said interrupting Chandler.

"Break up with her, it's the only solution," Ross said finally after a moment's thought, "if we did continue dating and went to college, it would put too much strain on our relationship," he admitted finally.

"Oh, okay," Monica said biting her lip, wondering whether this was a sensible solution or a daft one, would dating bring them closer or drive them further away, would a break up make them better friends or drive them further away? There was no way of knowing where this plan was going…

* * *

Ross always went to the comic book store at three o'clock in the afternoon, always; the reason for this was that new shipping's were always delivered at exactly two thirty in the afternoon. Will knew this, how could he not? Everybody knew this, which was why it was a perfect time to put his plan into action. He worked it out with Chip who had confirmed that he was in on the plan, who would've thought of him working with the quarterback of the football team?

Chip had faced rejection, and the fact that he couldn't have Rachel only made him want her even more, it was simply logic, after all even as a kid if you're parents say you can't watch a movie/ programme or buy a toy/ book, it only makes you want it even more because you know that you can't have it because it is 'forbidden' so to speak.

Chip had texted Rachel to meet him by the coffee house which was on the corner of the street. Rachel being Rachel arrived with only a second to spare, this was it. The plan was finally going to work, Ross and Rachel would go back to their normally stereotypes, stereotypes didn't mix and this was the price they would have to pay.

"Chip?" Rachel asked curiously, she hadn't seen him since her first date with Ross where she punched him; they weren't exactly on good terms to say the least. Then out of nowhere, Chip kissed Rachel quite roughly to say the least. Despite knowing what would happen Will still felt the sudden desire to look away, whistling as he headed over to the comic book store. Phase one of the plan was complete.

"Wha-?" Rachel asked breaking away before feeling the harshness of Chip's lips upon hers. She felt caught up in the kiss, but she couldn't help but compare Chip with Ross, Ross was the much better kisser she decides. She tried to feel guilty about the kiss, but it wasn't like she was cheating on him was it? After all they were on a break, he decided that they should take a break and therefore she was doing nothing wrong.

"Hey Ross," Will said smiling as he entered the comic book store.

"Hi Will," Ross replied.

"I was wondering do you want a coffee?" Will asked.

"Uh, yeah, let me just pay for this…" Ross replied, fiddling with his change.

"You can do that later," Will assured him, "the buy one coffee get one free offer ends at four," he lied, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, it was possibly the lamest lie he could've come with it, but Ross believed it after hearing the word 'free.'

"Okay I guess I could come back later," Ross decided after a few moments of deep silence putting his comic to one side, and heading towards the coffee shop with Will. It was a knock on affect after that, a perfectly executed plan, Ross saw Rachel, who out of instinct staggered away from Chip, but the plain fury was evident on his face.

There were a few moments of silence before Ross next spoke; "is the I hate Rachel club still active?" He asked and Will nodded.

Realistically both Ross and Rachel knew that they couldn't avoid each other forever. After all Ross was Monica's brother and Rachel was Ross' best friend. Monica spent as much time as possible over Rachel's (who refused to go over the Geller's) and Ross spent the best part of the remaining holidays locked up in his bedroom. The start of the summer was a dream and it had ended with a horrible nightmare. Quite thankfully there was only a week left of the holidays.

It was a coincidence that they saw each other once more before departing to college; actually it wasn't a coincidence but a plan executed by the one and only Monica Geller. She had gone out with her parents, inviting Rachel over when in reality Ross was the only one home, it wasn't her best plan but it was the only plan she had.

"Hi Mon, honey?" Rachel asked letting herself in using the keys, she received no response.

"Rachel, what are you doing here?" Ross asked.

"Monica called, she needed help with… something," Rachel said vaguely.

"She's not here she went away," Ross said shrugging. "Now you know she's not here can you please go…?" He replied curtly.

"No! We need to talk!" Rachel demanded.

"What about? You cheated on me," Ross declared, venom in his tone.

"We were on a break," Rachel stressed.

"Yeah well I should be thanking you, because do you know what I wasted years of my life crushing on you and when we actually start dating, I know what it really is for you; a summer fling," Ross stated dryly looking directly at the floor.

"How could you say that?" Rachel demanded, "it meant just as much to me as to you," she stated.

"Yeah well it's done now, you kissing Chip shows that you're not over him," Ross observed.

"He kissed me!"

"You kissed him back," Ross argued.

"It's not the same as sleeping with someone!" Rachel shot back "and for the record just shut up because all I can here is blah-blah-blah," Rachel replied admitting defeat and impersonating Ross.

"Yeah well college starts tomorrow, and we can both move on from our lives," Ross stated, it was only then that Rachel noticed the suitcases in his hands. "Goodbye Rachel," He said shaking her hand, it seemed formal, almost too formal.

"Come on, a handshake? What are we adults?" Rachel said hugging Ross.

"Remember I've only momentarily forgiven you, I'm still mad at you," Ross stated but he didn't seem mad, "I just wanted to leave being on good terms with you," he stated.

"Likewise, see you Geller," Rachel replied.

"See you Green enjoy college life," Ross said, and that was the day Ross Geller disappeared from Rachel Green's life.

**A/N Okay hi, I'm sorry for making Rachel and Ross break up (but they were only on a break!) but that's Ross and Rachel for you and there hectic relationship, nothing is ever simple for them, but I had a sudden urge to make sure that they ended on good terms whilst they left for college, I want to say thank you for all the people who reviewed/ favourite and added this story to their alerts. Reviews make my day, next chapter should be uploaded as soon as possible.**


	6. The One With The Reunion

**Chapter Five.**

It had been six or so years since Ross and Rachel had broken up, Ross tried to push any thoughts of Rachel to the back of his mind, but every now and again they kept cropping back up, now more than ever his thoughts of Rachel were occurring more frequently. But he was probably never going to see her again and he had to accept that, Monica and Rachel had stopped talking a while back and any hope of rekindling his relationship with Rachel was lost.

He was married… well divorced probably, Carol; his wife, soon to be ex-wife had just moved out, after realising she was a lesbian, his marriage was going down the drain which was definitely not how he pictured his first marriage ending up as.

"Hi," he replied mortified as he entered Central Perk, where his friends normally hung out, the group consisted of; Joey, Monica, Chandler and Phoebe.

"This guy says hello, I wanna kill myself," Joey said.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Monica asked.

"I just feel like someone reached down my throat, grabbed my small intestine, pulled it out of my mouth and tied it around my neck," Ross said shuddering at the thought of it.

"Cookie?" Chandler offered.

Monica turned her attention to the others, "Carol moved her stuff out today, let me make you some coffee," she said to Ross, Ross sighed he seemed to have a string of unsuccessful relationships which was growing by the minute.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Phoebe said plucking the air around Ross as she tried to cleanse his aura.

"No, no don't! Stop cleansing my aura; just leave my aura alone okay? I'll be fine alright? Really, everyone I hope she'll be happy," Ross replied, he had known Phoebe well enough to know that this was another one of her schemes to make him feel better, none of which actually worked. But she was always there for him, she was the first person he saw when Carol started seeing Susan and his marriage started falling apart… Even if that night did bring back some slightly weird memories, how did he think having a fling with Phoebe would solve his problems?

"No, you don't," Monica interrupted.

"No I don't," Ross agreed, "to hell with her, she left me!" Did seven years of marriage mean nothing to her?!

"And you never knew she was a lesbian…" Joey interrupted, Ross glared at him. Why did everyone have to bring that up? How was he supposed to know she was a lesbian when she didn't? Ross continued to listen to the conversation only giving his input on various occasion without paying much attention.

The others were trying hard to convince Ross that things would get better eventually, Ross was reluctant to believe them, "look, guys I don't want to be single, okay? I just…I just wanna be married again," he said his head sinking in his legs. Was it fate? Was it destiny? For at that precise moment a very wet bride entered the coffee house.

"And I just want a million dollars!" He claimed extending his hand hopefully.

"Wha-?" Ross asked, looking around the room locking eyes with the very wet bride, who looked strangely familiar for some reason, maybe he had bumped into her somewhere? She didn't look like the person who would browse around museums, maybe he knew her when they were kids?__

Monica's attention was also consumed by the new arrival, "Rachel?!" She said incredulously, surprised to see the girl, and slightly deflated that she had now lost the bet she had made over a year ago… Hopefully Chandler wouldn't remember the bet.

"Oh God Monica hi! I just went to your building and you weren't there and then this guy with a big hammer said you might be here and you are!" Rachel replied smiling a genuine smile instead of her usual million dollar smile that could blind anyone who was within several yards.

"Can I get you some coffee?" Gunter interrupted.

"De-caff. Okay, everybody, this is Rachel, another Lincoln High survivor. This is everybody, this is Chandler, and Phoebe, and Joey, and- you remember my brother Ross?!" Monica replied pointing to each of her friends in turn.

Hi, sure!" Rachel said after a few minutes of long silence, although she confirmed that she remembered it, her facial expressions contradicted with her sentence and she didn't look 'sure' that she remembered Ross. All she could remember was the geeky guy in the afro, the one who was always on the keyboard, and the one whom she shared the summer she would never forget with. In the place of Monica's older brother, was a man in his twenties, the afro was gone; a whole tub of hair gel had replaced it and there wasn't a keyboard in sight…

"Hi." Ross said, raising his eyebrows wanting to question her current outfit, but then again for all he knew it could be in fashion, after all fashion was pretty crazy these days wasn't it? Somehow his predicament didn't seem likely, plus why would she be crying if it wasn't from a failed marriage or something? Needless to say he was still happy to see her, he motioned to hug her, and unfortunately his umbrella opened splattering even more rain over the two. He sat down, putting his umbrella down feeling deflated again.__

"So you wanna tell us now, or are we waiting for four wet bridesmaids?" Monica asked.

Rachel didn't need prompting to tell her story, although it was probably a more exaggerated version of what happened. "Oh God... well, it started about a half hour before the wedding. I was in the room where we were keeping all the presents, and I was looking at this gravy boat. This really gorgeous Lamauge gravy boat. When all of a sudden I realised that I was more turned on by this gravy boat than by Barry! And then I got really freaked out, and that's when it hit me: how much Barry looks like Mr. Potato Head. Y'know, I mean, he always looked familiar, but... Anyway, I just had to get out of there, and I started wondering 'Why am I doing this, and who am I doing this for?'" She paused for a dramatic effect before continuing. "So anyway I just didn't know where to go, and I know that you and I have kinda drifted apart, but you're the only person I knew who lived here in the city."

"Who wasn't invited to the wedding." Monica stated.

"Ooh, I was kinda hoping that wouldn't be an issue..." Rachel admitted, "I was kinda hoping… that maybe you could help me out…"

"Well you were 'kinda hoping' a lot of things, and you can't stay with me," Monica stated, looking around the room wildly for some excuse, "because I already have a roommate… Phoebe," she finished, the others look surprised before nodded, and Ross shot his sister a dark look knowing full well that Phoebe didn't live with her anymore.

"I-," Phoebe began, but she was interrupted by Rachel.

"Oh, okay," Rachel said deflated.

"I don't live with her," Phoebe said, "I moved out because she was driving me crazy," she stated.

"But it can be like college again!" Rachel declared.

"I don't know…" Monica replied.

"You can always stay with me," Ross mumbled absentmindedly, the others turn to stare at him surprised at his sudden change of heart.

"Look, why can't I just decide later?" Rachel said simply. The others nod in agreement.

Ross, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler and Joey were all seated in Monica's kitchen, only Rachel was absent, she was supposedly job hunting but no-one believed her when she said this they all thought it was some excuse that they were supposed to swallow up.

"Guess what!" Rachel said bursting in, with a load of shopping in her hands, she looked surprisingly upbeat for someone who had just left a man at the man at the altar.

"You got a job?" Ross asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm trained for nothing! I was laughed out of twelve interviews today," Rachel concluded in a surprisingly chirpy tone as if she had swallowed a tub of optimistic pills.

"And yet you're surprisingly upbeat," Chandler commented dryly.

"You would be too if you found John and David boots on sale, fifty percent off!" Rachel claimed happily, the others stared at her bemused whilst Monica just looked angry.

"Oh how well you know me…" Chandler interrupted dryly.

"They're my new 'I don't need a job, I don't need my parents, I've got great boots' boots!" Rachel claimed, there seemed no way of deflating her happiness.

"How'd you pay for that?" Monica interrogated.

"Uh, credit card?" Rachel replied as if hoping that this was the right answer, apparently it wasn't as Monica glared at her with her eyes narrowed, with her signature 'I'm going to kill you' look that she shared with Ross.

"And who pays for that?" She continued, a sharp edge added to her voice, the other four remained silent, it was best not to ignite Monica's anger during moments like this.

"Um… my father," Rachel replied sheepishly.

"C'mon you can't live off your parents your whole life," Monica interrupted.

"I know that, that's why I was getting married," Rachel replied.

"Give her a break, it's hard being on your own for own for the first time," Phoebe interrupted, Rachel was just about to thank her when she continued, "I remember when I first came to this city. I was fourteen. My mom had just killed herself and my step-dad was back in prison, and I got here, and I didn't know anybody. And I ended up living with this albino guy, who was, like, cleaning windows outside port authority, and then he killed himself, and then I found aromatherapy. So believe me, I know exactly how you feel."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'anyway'…." Ross interrupted.

"You ready?" Monica said gesturing to the multiple credit cards that were lying on the table, Rachel shook her head.

"C'mon, cut, cut, cut, cut…" Ross chanted continuously, it only took a few more seconds before the others continued giving Rachel no choice but to cut the credit cards up, she grasped the remains of the credit cards, as she let a tear escape from her eye. Surprisingly, the simple task wasn't as hard as she had originally thought it would be.

"Welcome to the real world, it sucks you're gonna love it!"

* * *

The others said goodbye and soon it was only Ross and Rachel left with Monica, they decided to watch a film, although Monica didn't seem too pleased that there seemed to be no set arrangement of where Rachel should stay.

As the film reached the credits Ross began to conduct what he was planning to say; "look Mon, Rachel can stay at mine for one night, okay? And then she can stay at yours," He concluded.

"I'm right here," Rachel interrupted.

"Okay," Monica said finally after a few minutes of silence. The two left, although Rachel had no particular input in the decision.

"Look, you sleep in the bedroom, I'll crash on the sofa," Ross said in his 'no arguing' tone, which always made Rachel want to laugh, since Ross was particularly the definition of the sweetest guy possible and being stern, mean and strict just didn't work for him… She would've argued, but after opening her mouth she realised she didn't have the energy.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Rachel asked suspiciously.

"Why can't I be nice without you suspecting something?" Ross replied.

"Well you said and I quote; 'I'm still mad at you' the last time we met," Rachel asked.

"Well, I'm not mad it's been… Seven years?" Ross stated but it sounded more like a question rather than a statement, "and anyway I evaluated the situation…" He continued.

"Evaluated?" Rachel interrupted incredulously.

"Yes, evaluated, now if you would please stop interrupting me… and anyway it didn't make sense…" Ross continued only to be interrupted once more by Rachel.

"What didn't make sense Geller?" Rachel interrupted, "I kissed another boy simple, and it's not exactly rocket science."

"Not that," Ross said annoyed, "Will, the part of the puzzle that didn't make sense, he came by my house earlier that day to interrogate me about our relationship-," He continued.

"Get to the point, otherwise I may die of boredom," Rachel interrupted.

"I was getting there! Now, if you would just listen, Will saw me at the comic book store, and convinced me to go there for a special two for one offer that would end in an hour-."

"There isn't a two for one deal," Rachel intervened.

"I know that now, but it is apparent that he did that to get me out of the store… to see you kissing Chip," Ross concluded, realisation dawned on Rachel's face.

"Oh," She replied after several minutes of long silence. "So Chip was part of Will's plan?" Rachel interrupted, "I didn't think they were good friends."

"They had something in common, for us to break up," Ross said.

Rachel who looked very calm after realising this suddenly faced Ross with a look of pure anger adjacent on her face, "if you knew this why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought it would be better not to, plus Mon had told me you were seeing this guy, Barry was it?" Ross said simply.

"Oh, so you decided to make me feel guilty?"

"Rach, there was no point, you had Barry and I had Carol, I didn't even think that I would ever see you again," Ross reasoned.

"Fine," Rachel grumbled. "I guess you have a point," She moved a few boxes, "I'm sorry your marriage didn't work out," she said after a few moments of silence.

"Likewise," Ross mumbled.

"I didn't get married," Rachel informed him.

"Well, engagement then," Ross corrected himself. "Anyway you should get a job if you want to live in the city, have you talked to your parents yet?" He asked cautiously.

"No, my dad will just talk about how I'm an embarrassment and a failure…." Rachel said a sob escaping from her eye. "How do you and Mon do it?" She asked genuinely.

"I dunno, Mon's apartment was given to her by our grandma but other than that we've pretty much had to work for all we have, y'know for us to be more responsible," Ross said, Rachel nodded remembering the Geller's and wishing her family was more like theirs, what was her parents big plan for her? For her to marry some wealthy guy and to get money from him for the rest of her life and for her not to work for anything? Rachel was just about to go to bed when Ross interrupted her thoughts, "thank you for being here; I just didn't want to be alone…" He mumbled.

* * *

Rachel woke up the next day, confused; she was in a stranger's bed with stuff she didn't recognise… Where was Barry? For a few seconds the events of the previous day were a blur, what had happened at the wedding? It took a few seconds for her to realise that she had left the wedding and she was currently in Ross' apartment.

"Ross? I need to talk to you," A voice came from outside, it was a female's voice and it certainly wasn't Monica's or Phoebe's. The voice sounded calm but there was a slight edge to her voice.

"Carol?" Ross asked which ended the mystery of the owner of the mystery voice. "What's the matter?" By this time curiosity had gotten the better of Rachel, was she the infamous Carol, Ross' ex-wife? Was she crying? Why was she crying?

"I'm pregnant," Carol admitted finally, Rachel gasped as she felt as if she was in a soap opera with a really cool twist, she leaned her face against the door trying hard not to disrupt the privacy of the two by barging in.

"Oh, is it mine?" Ross asked realisation dawning on him.

"Well it can't be Susan's can it?" Carol replied irritably.

"Are you gonna keep it?" Was Ross next question.

"Yes, and Ross even though we're not together this baby needs his father, okay?" Carol asked, Rachel sighed, despite popular believe that she was a cold hearted woman who left a man at the altar (which she was) she had always known Barry wasn't right for her, and despite everything she had developed an inkling of hope that maybe somebody she would once again start dating Ross. The hope was now shattered, he was going to be a father now…

She leant too hard against the door and came flying into the living room, only to receive shocked looks from both Carol and Ross.

"Uh, I was just…" She mumbled, Rachel looked around for inspiration and grabbed a broom, "cleaning! I'm a cleaner!" She said triumphantly only to receive a strange look from Carol.

"Carol it's not what you think-," Ross began defensively.

"Ross, I don't care you sleep with whoever you want to, I mean it's not like we're together or anything," Carol replied a little too sharply.

"We didn't sleep together, she's… an old friend of mine from high school, and I'm just doing a favour… for a friend," Ross replied, Rachel couldn't help but let her heart sink when the word 'friend' slipped out of his mouth, but what was he supposed to say?

"Okay then," Carol said finally exiting the apartment. Soon it was just Ross and Rachel alone; Ross glared at Rachel annoyed that she had eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Green, you do realise that you're holding a broom the wrong way up don't you?"

**A/N Reviews make my day! One chapter left oooooooooohh. **

**Quite a bit of this chapter came from the first episode c: and I decided to keep the Carol & Ben storyline in it.**


	7. The One With The Lobsters

**Disclaimer: I don't own FRIENDS. Okay? Okay.**

**Chapter Six.**

Ross and Rachel had been dating for nearly a year, it was their one year anniversary to be exact, even though Carol was pregnant she made it perfectly clear that their relationship would be exactly the same irrelevant of the baby and Ross could date whomever he liked. Nobody was surprised when they announced that they were dating, probably because they had known that all along that it would result to this.

After an unexpected turn of events, Ross' plan which he had been planning for the past few months finally came into action a lot quicker than he originally planned. "Hey, Mon what's on this video tape?" Joey asked pulling a video tape from behind the shelf, it had been behind the back, and dust was covered in it after only being seldom used.

"Hey you got me, put it in," Monica said after a moment's hesitation, and she couldn't hide the fact that she was curious about what it contained. Joey slid the tape in, and the others sat down.

"Hi Rach," Ross said as Rachel entered the door, he got up to kiss Rachel with a goofy grin apparent on his face.

"Ssh!" The other four whispered, their eyes firmly planted on the screen.

Monica studied the video carefully, trying to determine where it came from, she saw her mother looking at the screen, "over her Jack!" Her mother said, "Okay I see, Rachel's coming up the path, oh doesn't she look pretty, Jack get this! Jack!" Yes, that was a mother alright; Rachel planted her head in her hands as the camera focused on a younger version of herself with a huge nose…

"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath.

"What is with your nose?!" Joey chipped in, only to receive a death glare from Rachel.

"They had to reduce it because of, of my deviated septum," Rachel replied.

"Okay I was wrong, that's what they used to cover Connecticut," Chandler interrupted.

"Do you know what this is!? This is us getting ready for prom!" Monica replied excitedly interrupted the banter between the two, a smile rose on Rachel and Ross' face as Rachel's eyes sparkled. "This is the day Ross and Rachel got together!"

"Do you guys really want to watch this?" Ross asked quietly, as he remembered the course of events that took place before they went to prom. He didn't want to be remembering the past now that it was all forgotten now it looked like he had no choice.

"Oh yeah we do. C'mon!" The others including Rachel chorused.

They returned to the video, this time the camera focused on Monica, "some girl ate Monica!" Joey declared surprise evident in his tone.

"Shut up! The camera adds ten pounds," Monica replied.

"So how many cameras are actually on you?" Chandler joked semi seriously. Monica choose not to reply and they watched the rest of the tape in silence, it was exactly the same as Ross recalled the events, surprisingly enough the day was still really clear in his mind as he paused to consider the dramatic turn of events that had resulted in his happy ending.

It was only then that he actually realised how upset Rachel was, she was crying and not because she wanted something or the fake crying she put on. He wished that the camera didn't focus on him when his parents were coaxing him to ask Rachel, it was just painful to watch his younger self with his afro and keyboard.

After the video ended, the six stared at the blank screen, even Monica and Rachel were surprised, Rachel because she didn't know the Geller's cared about her that much to put Ross up to going with her and Monica because it was one thing living the experience but it was another thing entirely to watch the whole scenario.

"Ross?" Rachel asked but Ross wasn't paying attention, he had briefly pondered on what the outcome would've been like should Chip have turned up, he flinched at the thought that would mean there would've been no happy ending for him, and possibly no future chance of dating Rachel. On the night he had been given a chance and he was quite happy to admit that he grabbed it with both hands.

Rachel kissed Ross, "see he's her lobster!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Aw, I was looking for drama… tension… tears and all I got was this?!" Joey replied incredulously.

A few seconds later Ross knew, he couldn't explain how he knew he just did. His parents had always told him that when he was thinking of marriage he would always know when to propose, plans, arrangements faded into nothingness. Ross knew that now was great.

He got on one knee just like they did it the movies; Rachel gave a little gasp, "Ross?" Ross winked at Phoebe, which was their signal, Phoebe was the only one he had told about the plan but he suspected that Joey and Chandler knew too. Everybody that knew Monica knew that she couldn't keep a secret, Phoebe ushered the other three out of the room, and she dimmed the lights and put some music on.

"Rachel Green will you marry me?" Ross asked, "To make me the happiest man in the world?"

"Yes!" Rachel replied happily, Ross smiled as they kissed as if they were the only two people in the world. His parents were right, he knew.

Now was right. Now was great.

**A/N I was going to make it longer and have the proposal that Ross was talking about in series nine. But I decided against it :) So this is it, the end, I hope you enjoyed. And please to all you silent readers! Leave a review it really does make my day! c: I hope to see you again soon! -Kat**


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